Indian voter records strengthen citizenship claim of family deported to Bangladesh
In September, the Calcutta High Court ordered the Indian government to bring Khatun, her family, and five others - including Bibi and her two sons - back to India within a month. The deadline expired on October 24
A deportation case involving a pregnant woman allegedly sent to Bangladesh despite evidence of Indian citizenship has triggered legal proceedings and political criticism in India.
Sunali Khatun, her husband Danish, and their eight-year-old son were among a group of migrant laborers from West Bengal who had been working as ragpickers in Delhi for about two decades. The family was detained by Delhi Police and deported to Bangladesh on 26 June, according to court filings and lawyers involved in the case. They are currently being held in a Bangladeshi jail for entering the country illegally, says the Indian Express.
Another woman, Sweety Bibi, 32, and her two sons were detained and deported at the same time.
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Khatun's parents, Bhodu Sheikh and Jyotsna Bibi, have appealed for their daughter's return, pointing to their names appearing on the 2002 West Bengal voters' list released by the Election Commission ahead of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Their polling station is listed in Paikar village, Murarai Assembly segment in Birbhum district.
"Now our names are on the list. What more do I need to have my pregnant daughter and her family back home?" said Sheikh. His wife, Jyotsna Bibi, voiced concern about the medical care her daughter is receiving in Bangladesh, saying she should return to India to deliver her child.
In September, the Calcutta High Court ordered the Indian government to bring Khatun, her family, and five others - including Bibi and her two sons - back to India within a month. The deadline expired on October 24.
Khatun's parents have since filed a contempt petition in the Calcutta High Court, accusing the Centre of failing to comply with the order. The government has challenged the directive before the Supreme Court.
A Bangladeshi court also ruled on 3 October that the deported individuals are Indian citizens and should be sent back to India.
Raghunath Chakraborty, Khatun's lawyer, said the voter list evidence further supports her claim of citizenship. He added that her unborn child would be eligible for Indian citizenship by descent, even if born in Bangladesh.
The case has drawn political attention in West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) criticized the deportation. The party called it "bureaucratic cruelty" and "a moral collapse orchestrated in the name of nationalism."
TMC MP Samirul Islam said the discovery of the parents' names on the voter list was "another slap on the Centre," alleging that the deportation reflected discrimination against poor, Bengali-speaking migrants.
Officials at India's Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
